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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24671365">Love Foolish</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/kihyukie/pseuds/kihyukie'>kihyukie</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>NCT (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alcohol, Alternate Universe - College/University, Domestic Fluff, Flirting, Fluff and Humor, Getting Together, Lee Jeno is Whipped, Light Angst, M/M, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 05:54:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>14,475</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24671365</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/kihyukie/pseuds/kihyukie</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jeno had learnt pretty early on that Donghyuck was an entire solar system disguised as a human because wherever he went he carried a lethal force of gravity and light that made him the centre of the room without him even realizing. And he thrived from it.</p><p>People tended to flock to Donghyuck and Jeno was so scared he was just another one of them. </p><p>(aka the nohyuck 'oh my god they were roommates au' that absolutely nobody asked for)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Lee Jeno</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>149</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Love Foolish</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>me, scattering this fic on the ground like bread for birds: nohyuck nation come get y'all food!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>ROOMMATE NEEDED</b>
</p><p>
  <span>The cursor blinked back at Jeno, mocking him. This whole had been Jaemin’s idea in the first place, so he had no idea where to even begin. Jeno had never lived with anyone aside from his immediate family and Yangyang</span>
  <span>—</span>
  <span>who he had been paired with as a freshman in the dorms</span>
  <span>—</span>
  <span>and now he had less than a week to find a stranger that he hopefully would be able to put up with until his lease was over in another year. Jeno didn’t want to think of himself as picky, but if the shoe fits.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>None of this would have been a problem if Yangyang wasn’t moving across the country to attend his university of choice. Then again, Jeno couldn’t fault him for that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeno was genuinely happy for his friend without a doubt. They both knew how hard he worked to even be considered for such a school, so in Jeno’s eyes it was well deserved. What irked him was that Yangyang conveniently forgot to let him know that he had been bumped up the waitlist and was moving until he started packing up his belongings into big brown boxes just a few days ago. How he managed to mention such a vital fact was beyond Jeno, but living with Yangyang had led him to learn quickly about the younger’s ability to get wrapped up in life and forget such important things. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hence the time Jeno unintentionally stood up his blind date with one of Yangyang’s close friends because the boy had forgotten to tell Jeno that plans had even been arranged in the first place. In the end it hadn’t really mattered when he met Hendery at a party Jaemin dragged him to a week later not knowing that he was the one Yangyang had intended to set him up with until said boy walked into them making out in the laundry mat. Jeno shuttered at the thought. Those were darker times. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Unfortunately, now Jeno was pressed with finding a roommate within the next week so he could make rent on time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let me help you,” Jaemin spoke up, turning Jeno’s laptop towards him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeno wasn’t too sure how much he trusted his friend to make a list since he wouldn’t want to live with Jaemin if they were the last two people on earth. Sure, Jeno loved his best friend, but he had a feeling the friendship wouldn’t last long if they had to be around each other constantly. Being someone’s friend for the last fifteen years and living within the same 800 square feet were quite different feats. At points Yangyang had almost proven too much for Jeno and he only had a quarter of Jaemin’s flirty nature, but thankfully double his tidiness. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A couple minutes of furious typing passed before Jaemin turned the laptop back so Jeno could read over the ad, a pleased grin on his face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>ROOMMATE NEEDED </b>
</p><p>
  <span>My last roommate just moved out and I need someone to move in asap. Located near NCU campus </span>
  <span>— a ten minute walk max</span>
  <span> . Serious offers ONLY!</span>
</p><p>
  <b>Must be: </b>
</p>
<ul>
<li><span>a tidy and clean housemate</span></li>
<li><span>lgbt (or an ally at least, im a bi dude)</span></li>
<li><span>able to support yourself and pay rent on time</span></li>
<li><span>priority given to cat lovers</span></li>
</ul><p>
  <b>Rent includes:</b>
</p>
<ul>
<li><span>your own bathroom</span></li>
<li><span>all utilities </span></li>
<li><span>a super cool roommate</span></li>
</ul><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You can’t be that picky.” Jaemin shrugged, likely noticing the frown forming on Jeno’s face as he erased the last line. More than anything, Jeno knew Jaemin was right, he couldn’t afford to pay a full month's rent if he wanted groceries, but that didn’t mean he was thrilled with the situation he was stuck in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeno sighed and dropped his head to the table in defeat, letting out a groan as he did so. In an attempt of comfort, Jaemin gave him a supportive pat on the back. Jeno hovered the mouse over the submit button for a couple minutes, debating just how bad it might be to either room with Jaemin or starve, before ultimately closing his eyes to click it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Desperate times called for desperate measures and with any luck this would work. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✰</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It did. Sort of, that is. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After three days Jeno had received a total of five different roommate offers. Two had already been crossed off the list for being too old according to Renjun’s standards. He wasn’t wrong, but Jeno figured ending up with a sugar daddy wouldn’t be the worst thing that could happen to a broke university student, so he clearly wasn’t the best judge. Which is why Yangyang, Renjun, and Jaemin were currently seated around his table going through the applicants with him; Renjun acting as their main voice of reason.</span>
</p><p><span>“Twenty, forensic science major,” Jeno rattled off the information on their latest application. “Can move in immediately, friendly, an early riser</span><span>—</span> <em><span>Jaemin</span></em><span>.” Jeno glared at the boy. “This is literally you.”</span></p><p>
  <span>“I told you he would figure it out,” Yangyang said smugly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaemin laughed, ignoring Jeno’s slight annoyance. “You passed!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Passed what?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The test of our friendship, duh.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeno rolled his eyes, clicking delete on the email Jaemin had sent. That only left two more. At this point Jeno needed a miracle. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeno’s heart sank halfway through reading the email. “They can’t move in until the start of winter semester.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ok well, try the last one,” Yangyang prompted, sounding more hopeful than Jeno felt</span>
  <span>—</span>
  <span> he always was the more chipper and optimistic of the two, Jeno was going to miss it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Either that or looks like I’m getting a sugar daddy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Jeno</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He rolled his eyes at Renjuns warning, clicking on the last submission, mentally crossing his fingers for good measure.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This one...actually looks promising,” Jeno spoke up after skimming half of the email. “He’s twenty, in his second year as a bio major. It says he’s a dog person, but not everyone can be perfect. I think he’s the one.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s his name?” Jaemin opened Instagram on his phone, all ready to get to sleuthing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeno scrolled back up to the top of the email, eyes scanning the screen. He must have missed it the first time. To Jeno, the two words tasted like hope, “Lee Donghyuck”. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✰</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeno wasn’t a morning person. At all. After finally being able to have a more flexible schedule in university it became evident that he was more productive later in the day and therefore had a bit of a fucked up sleep pattern. Remarkably, he hadn’t missed a single one of his classes yet due to sleeping in</span>
  <span>—</span>
  <span> something he wished he could say the same about his high school career. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>So when there was a rather loud knock at the door it took Jeno a minute to rouse from his sleep and check back into reality. As soon as he did though, a bolt of anxiety stabbed his stomach realizing what the consistent knocking meant. Today was the day his new roommate was moving in and he had conveniently slept through his alarms. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Throwing off his covers, Jeno scrambled to find some proper clothes, feeling around on the floor until he found something he hoped was both clean and right side out. He wasn’t sure how long Donghyuck had been knocking, but showing up in just his boxers wouldn’t help Jeno’s first impression. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Unless…</span>
  </em>
  <span> a voice that sounded an awful lot like Jaemin suggested. Jeno shook it off as he reached the front door. A few deep breaths were in order as he reached for the handle. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After choosing Donghyuck as a suitable option and contacting him, Jaemin had spent the next three hours scouring through his social media, showing Jeno anything he deemed important enough. Which essentially meant that Jeno thought he had been prepared to meet the other boy, but the photos really didn’t do him justice. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy standing in front of Jeno might have been the most beautiful boy he had ever seen, which was saying a lot considering he was best friends with Na Jaemin, the campus heartthrob. Donghyuck had bright copper hair and briefly Jeno wondered how fresh it was because they hadn’t come across a single picture where Donghyuck’s hair had looked like that on his Instagram. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was wearing black graphic tee, tucked into ripped jeans that showed off his long legs nicely. While everything about him looked sharp Jeno couldn’t help but caught up on his doe eyes and rounded lips, currently stuck out in a pout. Lee Donghyuck looked every part of what Jeno three years ago might have described as his ideal type. Now Jeno finally understood what Renjun meant when he said when this would be interesting. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have the right apartment, right?” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Oh god</span>
  </em>
  <span>, even his voice was cute. It was warm and light, unlike anything Jeno had heard before and something he knew he wanted to hear forever if given the opportunity. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you Lee Donghyuck?” Jeno asked, just to make sure. Even though there was no mistaking the boy in front of him was Donghyuck from all his photos, Jeno couldn’t help but feel like this was some kind of very elaborate prank. There had to be camera’s somewhere. No way was he expected to live with this boy for the next several months and make it out alive.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck grinned and nodded. “The one and only. And you’re Lee Jeno?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>This time it was Jeno’s turn to nod his head. “Do you need any help?” Jeno asked, eyeing the suitcase at Donghyuck’s side. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Is that all you’re bringing?</span>
  </em>
  <span> he wondered, choking the words back. He didn’t want to assume anything.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m ok, thanks though. My friends are helping me bring the rest of my stuff later though and we can probably use your help then.” Jeno didn’t miss the way Donghyuck seemed to eye him up as he spoke, lingering on his arms where they were crossed over his chest. Yes, he tended to work out a couple times a week over the summer, which finally seemed to be paying off. He just hoped it would be a habit he could keep up with when school started back up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck followed Jeno into the apartment, dragging his suitcase closely behind, the wheeling clicking over the kitchen tiles. It was strange to think that he lived with anyone other than Yangyang, but Jeno had a little sliver of hope that everything would go smoothly between them. Worse case they just had to dance around each other until the end of the school year when the lease was up. If that was the case, Jeno might consider moving into the dorms to be even closer to campus. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your room is the first door on the right. I’ll be in my room if you need anything.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck smiled oh so brightly at Jeno before thanking him and retreating to his room. Still stunned, it took the zip of the suitcase opening before Jeno snapped out of it, stepping back into his room.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>jen (9:34am): </b>
</p><p>
  <span>oh my god.. donghyuck is SO pretty </span>
</p><p>
  <span>i think i'm in LOOVE</span>
</p><p>
  <span>also his hair is orange(!!!) now help  </span>
</p><p>
  <b>injun (9:35am): </b>
</p><p>
  <span>jeno its been like 2 seconds sit down</span>
</p><p>
  <b>yang x2 (9:35am): </b>
</p><p>
  <span>LMAOOOO</span>
</p><p>
  <span>U GOT IT BAD BRO </span>
</p><p>
  <b>nana (9:36am):</b>
</p><p>
  <span>told you so~</span>
</p><p>
  <span>i say go for it!!!!!!</span>
</p><p>
  <b>injun (9:36am):</b>
</p><p>
  <span>NO</span>
</p><p>
  <span>ABSOLUTELY NOT</span>
</p><p>
  <span>do NOT listen to jaemin</span>
</p><p>
  <b>yang x2 (9:36am):</b>
</p><p>
  <span>YOLO</span>
</p><p>
  <b>jen (9:38am):</b>
</p><p>
  <span>i hate u all </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✰</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was very little that Jeno found came easy to him. Sure he had good grades, but they were a direct reflection of hours of studying and equally as many overthinking and second-guessing himself. The only reason that he even made captain of the volleyball team in his senior year was the countless hours he poured into practice</span>
  <span>—</span>
  <span> the literal blood, sweat, and tears. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Meeting new people never came easy either. Yangyang aside, Jeno had kept the same friends since grade school. Sure he met new people all the time, social situations weren’t even something he tended to outright avoid, but it was harder for him to let people in and harder for them to want to stay. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remarkably, everything about Donghyuck was easy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It scared Jeno, just how fast things formed into his new sense of normal after Donghyuck settled in. In mere seconds Jeno’s life</span>
  <span>—</span>
  <span>his routine</span>
  <span>—</span>
  <span>had been thrown into chaos only for it to form back perfectly around the vortex that was Lee Donghyuck. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck, much unlike Jeno, was a morning person. If the sun was up, so was he. So far, he was considerate enough to stick mostly to his room until Jeno was awake and he never made too much noise during the early hours of the day. The odd day Jeno would even wake to the smell of breakfast (usually something quite simple, but Donghyuck wasn’t nearly as bad at cooking as he gave himself credit for). These were Jeno’s favorite mornings; coffee, the promise of warm home-cooked food, and Donghyuck were enough to get his sleepy ass out of bed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>To his surprise, Donghyuck also began to join Jeno at the gym. Jeno had nearly lost his footing on the elliptical when Donghyuck came out wearing baggy shorts that showed too much of his tan legs. As if that hadn’t been enough, Jeno definitely did have a minor heart attack when Donghyuck started to stretch for his cool down, going almost immediately into the splits. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It didn’t take long to learn that Donghyuck was a pretty open person</span>
  <span>—</span>
  <span> a stark opposite to Jeno. If he was happy you knew, if he was upset you know, if he was mad you better watch out. So Jeno was less than surprised to come home from class and find Donghyuck pacing around their small living area, a finger in his mouth, the skin around his nail red and irritated from his constant chewing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was more a warning of common courtesy than a proper greeting, letting Donghyuck know he was no longer alone, even though Jeno doubted he missed the jingle of keys unlocking the door. Jeno unpacked his bag slowly, going between the kitchen and his bedroom, giving Donghyuck the chance to speak up, but when he didn’t Jeno made his way over to the couch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Penny for your thoughts?” He asked, taking a seat beside Donghyuck who was tucked into one of the corner spots. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The boy hummed. “It’s nothing.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeno gently pushed Donghyuck’s hand away from his mouth where he was still chewing at his nail. “It’s obviously something.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It hurt Jeno to see Donghyuck like this</span>
  <span>— </span>
  <span>curled in on himself, no expression in his face. Sure they hadn’t known each other for long, but Jeno didn’t like to see anyone upset, especially someone he cared about. This wasn’t the usual for Donghyuck, he was always the more energetic and positive of the pair, but Jeno knew that didn’t mean people couldn’t have bad days or weeks or months. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m just tired, y’know? I can’t wait for winter break. No homework and not having to constantly cook and feed and take care of myself? Like that sounds so sexy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now that was something Jeno could solve, at least momentarily. “Wanna go out for dinner?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck sat up straighter, looking at Jeno for the first time since he had gotten home. Even though they had been living together for a couple weeks Jeno’s heart still jumped when he got Donghyuck’s full attention. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know. Somewhere cheap? You can choose, but I’m paying.” Jeno shrugged. He didn’t mind emptying his wallet if it was for Donghyuck, he just wouldn’t think about the fact that he needed groceries for the next week. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck’s face lit up in a smile, like the sun rising in the morning, and Jeno let out a quiet sigh of relief. “Deal. Lemme change out of my sweats and then I’m good to go.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So fancy.” Jeno teased. “What is this? A date?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course, honey,” Donghyuck replied sweetly before cackling and disappearing into his room to change, unaware of the effect he had on Jeno. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✰</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>injun (3:44pm):</b>
</p><p>
  <span>jeno ur boyfriend is here</span>
</p><p>
  <b>nana (3:48pm):</b>
</p><p>
  <span>please come get him he won’t shut up about u</span>
</p><p>
  <span>some of us are trying to study</span>
</p><p>
  <b>jen (3:48pm):</b>
</p><p>
  <span>he’s not my boyfriend</span>
</p><p>
  <b>yang x2 (3:48pm):</b>
</p><p>
  <span>and?</span>
</p><p>
  <b>jen (3:50pm):</b>
</p><p>
  <span>just tell him to text me wtf</span>
</p><p>
  <span>ill be there in like 5 </span>
</p><p>
  <b>injun (3:51pm):</b>
</p><p>
  <span>if he's not ur bf why were u two holding hands the whole movie last night????</span>
</p><p>
  <span>hello??</span>
</p><p>
  <b>jen (3:53pm):</b>
</p><p>
  <span>he was scared</span>
</p><p>
  <span>wtf was i supposed to do</span>
</p><p>
  <span>let him die?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>injun (3:54pm):</b>
</p><p>
  <span>fellas is it gay to hold ur homies hand</span>
</p><p>
  <b>yang x2 (3:54pm):</b>
</p><p>
  <span>yes</span>
</p><p>
  <b>nana (3:54pm):</b>
</p><p>
  <span>yes</span>
</p><p>
  <b>injun (3:54pm):</b>
</p><p>
  <span>the council has spoken </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✰</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After inhabiting the same space as Donghyuck for several months it was weird to be alone in the apartment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It had only been a day since Jeno had returned from his parents for Christmas break, but Donghyuck wouldn’t be back until the evening. So really, he didn’t have much time alone, but that didn’t make it any easier. It had already been just over a week since he had seen Donghyuck, the longest they had gone since meeting and Jeno felt like he lost a limb. Maybe that was a little dramatic, but Jeno had grown up learning from the best. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They had still managed to text nearly every day, trading pictures and stories of home, even facetiming on Christmas Eve for an hour, but it wasn't the same. The apartment felt duller without Donghyuck around. Jeno had learnt pretty early on that Donghyuck was an entire solar system disguised as a human because wherever he went he carried a lethal force of gravity and light that made him the centre of the room without him even realizing. And he </span>
  <em>
    <span>thrived</span>
  </em>
  <span> from it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>People tended to flock to Donghyuck and Jeno was so scared he was just another one of them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>To put it lightly, there was a black hole in both the apartment and Jeno’s heart and he didn’t need to wear his glasses to see it was Donghyuck shaped. So he did what he did best, he grabbed a bag of crackers from the pantry, rummaged around his bag for his laptop and charger, and set up in his bed to disappear in a YouTube wormhole until Donghyuck was back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeno’s plan worked rather perfectly. He was on easily probably his sixteenth TikTok compilation when he heard the key to the front door. Not wanting to seem too eager, he forced himself to lay in bed for a few minutes longer, listening to the now familiar noises of Donghyuck moving around the apartment. He felt like he could finally breathe now that Donghyuck was home and </span>
  <em>
    <span>oh</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Jeno was unsure of when that had developed, but the thought comforted him rather than scared him, which it probably should have. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was no room to argue in Jeno’s opinion: home was the four walls of this apartment and the two boys that lived there. Home was Donghyuck. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A moment later, a knock came at his door, startling Jeno more than he would care to admit. He hadn’t even been aware he was that tense, he had nothing to be nervous for after all, but apparently his body had other ideas. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is it safe to come in?” Donghyuck’s voice asked from behind the door. Oh how Jeno had missed it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” he called out, moving his laptop onto his pillows and sitting up. As an afterthought Jeno ran a hand through his hair, trying to tame it his bedhead that he hadn’t bothered with earlier. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even though they had been apart for less than two weeks, seeing Donghyuck again after such a drought was a punch to the gut for Jeno. He was just dressed in sweats and a loose tee, (</span>
  <em>
    <span>something comfortable for travel,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Jeno’s brain supplied), but Jeno thought he looked </span>
  <em>
    <span>softer</span>
  </em>
  <span> than usual. His hair was slightly curled in its natural state and it hung just over his eyes; his mother must have trimmed it while he was home since it had grown out in the last couple months.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a lot going on in Jeno’s brain and heart</span>
  <span>—</span>
  <span> which admittedly, was the usual state of being when Donghyuck was concerned. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He barely had a moment to process it all before Donghyuck all but launched himself onto Jeno’s bed and straight into his lap. This was heaven Jeno decided</span>
  <span>—</span>
  <span> all of Donghyuck’s warmth and boyish smell and gangly limbs invading his space. Selfishly, Jeno gathered the younger in his arms, basking in the happiness as Donghyuck pressed his face into Jeno’s shoulder.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck mumbled something that Jeno would have missed completely if he couldn’t feel the boy's lips moving as he spoke. It sent a shiver through Jeno that he hoped Donghyuck didn’t pick up on. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” He asked, nudging one of Donghyuck’s arms where it was laying over one of his own. Donghyuck took a deep breath before lifting his head to look at Jeno and </span>
  <em>
    <span>wow</span>
  </em>
  <span>, they were close enough that Jeno could see even the faintest of freckles adorning Donghyuck’s face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I missed you,” he repeated, a pout on his lips. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeno’s insides melted and a dangerous feeling crept into his heart. A year too late for his mythology elective Jeno finally got it: why Icarus couldn’t resist the sun. He smiled until it hurt. “I missed you too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Were you watching TikTok compilations without me?” Jeno followed Donghyuck’s gaze to his laptop screen where indeed, the video was paused almost halfway through. Jeno laughed at the fake hurt in Donghyuck’s voice remembering how not too long ago they poked fun at how upset straight couples got when their significant other watched an episode of </span>
  <em>
    <span>Their Show </span>
  </em>
  <span>without the other. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course not, darling.” Jeno delighted in how flustered pet names always made the younger and this time was no exception as Donghyuck’s face flushed a bright red. “Want to finish this one with me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck nodded, shifting off Jeno’s lap so they could instead sit side by side against the wall, Jeno’s laptop resting on their legs. It wasn’t unusual for them to watch stuff together or sit pressed up against each other for that matter, but Jeno made sure to take none of it for granted. Every time still felt like the first time and Jeno would never get over the rush of Donghyuck allowing, encouraging him even, to be so close. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Only a moment later, Donghyuck shifted again, moving slightly lower so he could comfortably rest his head on Jeno’s shoulder. It took all Jeno’s self restraint not to reach out and grab his hand, but there were some lines Jeno couldn’t cross yet. They weren’t even dating after all, Donghyuck just happened to be quite affectionate. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jeno.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck sounded tired, his voice more low and raspy than usual. The video faded into the background, Jeno’s attention was fully on the boy pressed up next to him. Every part of them that overlapped tingled and Jeno wondered if Donghyuck could feel it too. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hmm?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You smell like home.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeno was on fire and he was falling, falling, falling. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✰</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>New Years approached and the world kept ticking on. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>This year their friend group had opted for a small get together that ended with everyone being packed into Jeno and Donghyuck's apartment</span>
  <span>—</span>
  <span> it had the most space and as a bonus, it was off campus so they didn’t have to worry about smuggling the alcohol in. Jaemin had shown up early, eager to help decorate which Jeno was grateful for because God had forgotten the gene that made him care about interior design. (“It’s called having good taste,” Donghyuck snickered, high-fiving Jaemin.) </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thanks to the hard work of Jaemin and Donghyuck, the apartment was fully covered in gold and white streamers hanging in the entrance and criss-crossed on the walls of the living room. Glitter and stars covered the tables and Jeno knew they’d be finding pieces of them for months to come, but Donghyuck had somehow convinced him that the result in the end would be worth it. Jeno figured his eventual agreement had a lot more to do with the fact that it was Donghyuck asking and not the fact that this night would be ruined if there was not an adequate amount of glitter covering every surface. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As a finishing touch, there was a disco ball hanging near their balcony doors where one of Donghyuck’s plants usually hung from. It couldn’t really turn much from where it was positioned, but “</span>
  <em>
    <span>It’s for the aesthetic!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” Jaemin had argued. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was fairly early into the night, but Jeno decided having all his favorite people in the same place was probably the best thing possible. Sure it should have been self explanatory, but he had been slightly nervous about how his friends would get along, since not everyone was well acquainted and the last thing he wanted was for Yukhei or Donghyuck to feel left out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Even though he had only known Yukhei for a short couple months because of their shared business communication class, Jeno was glad he felt comfortable enough to even show up after Jeno had extended an invite to him. Judging by the way he was hanging off Jaemin’s every word, Jeno might have done both of them a huge favour. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaemin sat in the beanbag chair, wrapped up in some argument with Yukhei and Renjun who were both seated on the floor in front of him. From what Jeno was able to catch, Renjun was trying to argue the fact of aliens existing</span>
  <span>— </span>
  <span>a common occurrence after Jaemin established himself as a non-believer. Yukhei was the new contender to this debate and Jeno was sure both his friends were trying to persuade him to their side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yangyang had stepped away into Jeno’s room to take a call from his boyfriend, since he had just finished work and would be around soon to pick Yangyang up so they could spend the night together. After all, Ten was the reason Yangyang was back visiting over break. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>A comfortable ball of warmth in his chest settled in Jeno’s chest and he caught himself smiling into space.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And Donghyuck. Donghyuck was sitting beside him, curled up between Jeno and where Yangyang had been sitting on the couch looking every piece like he belonged here, in Jeno’s life, in Jeno’s future.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you smiling about?” Donghyuck had leaned forward into Jeno’s space without him realizing, there were sparkles in his eyes or maybe it was just a reflection of the stars he had spread around the apartment earlier. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The ball of warmth flickered and Jeno smiled back sweetly. “I’m just happy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a slight look for surprise on Donghyuck’s face, like he wasn’t expecting such an honest answer, but Jeno cherished any chance he got to catch Donghyuck by surprise because too often it was the other way around. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m glad. It looks good on you, babe.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeno flushed under the pet name, grateful that Yangyang had only just walked back in the room, so there was no way any of his friends could have heard. No matter how many times Donghyuck used them Jeno figured he would always be affected. Even if Donghyuck meant nothing from them it didn’t stop Jeno from getting to imagine a different reality</span>
  <span>—</span>
  <span> one where the pet names had meaning and Donghyuck liked him back and they could grow old together. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ten is here so I’m gonna take off now, but it was nice getting to catch up,” Yangyang waved on his way to the door. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yukhei was the only one to wave back enthusiastically. “It was nice meeting you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You too! Have a good night guys.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Be safe, Yang,” Jaemin yelled as Yangyang closed the door, leaving the five of them remaining to ring in the new year. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Another ten minutes passed where Yukhei and Renjun migrated to the couch, leaving Donghyuck in Jeno’s lap and his legs in Yukhei’s lap to fit them on the impossibly small couch. Donghyuck was impossibly warm, his presence like Jeno’s own personal weighted blanket, and before long he felt himself zone out, his eyelashes becoming too heavy to keep open. It felt lame to be falling asleep in his own apartment before midnight on New Years, but Jeno could hardly find it in himself to care.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey sleepyhead.” Someone poked at his face and Jeno screwed his eyes shut, the room was suddenly too bright. He wasn’t even sure how he fell asleep in the first place. “Wake up, Jen. There’s a minute left.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Following Donghyuck’s voice, Jeno opened his eyes, slowly zoning back in. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yukhei clapped beside him. “Welcome back to the party, bro.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“30 seconds,” Renjun called out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was then that Jeno realized Renjun had swapped spots with Jaemin who was now next to Yukhei on the couch. All he got back was a small smile when Jeno sent the boy a questioning look. Renjun usually knew what he was doing though, so Jeno didn’t push further. Unsure of what to do, Jeno watched the last couple seconds of the year disappear on the clock</span>
  <span>— </span>
  <span>which was really just Jeno’s laptop that they had set up on the coffee table, a countdown open on the Chrome tab.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A chorus of Happy New Year rang out, Jeno’s voice included, as the clock changed over to midnight and before Jeno even realized what was happening there was a warm pair of lips on his cheek. He looked over just in time to see Donghyuck lean back, his cheeks a delightful red. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✰</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeno knew something was up the second Donghyuck took a seat at the end of Jeno’s bed a mischievous look in his eye and started off the conversation by declaring he needed help. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“With what?” Jeno cocked his eyebrow, already moving his laptop to the side knowing that unless there was a serious chance of someone getting hurt he was about to say yes to whatever Donghyuck asked of him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I want to dye my hair,” Donghyuck announced, brandishing a tube of purple hair dye without an ounce of hesitation. To be honest, Jeno had been wondering over the past weeks when Donghyuck would re-dye the faded red in his hair, but maybe he had spent the last couple weeks debating a new colour. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve never dyed hair before.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not rocket science, babe. I’ll guide you through it.” And with that Donghyuck was up and moving apparently not willing to live with his strawberry blonde hair a second longer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After following Donghyuck’s orders and changing into a pair of clothes he barely cared about, Jeno followed the younger into the bathroom where a plastic bag already lined the tiles. This clearly wasn’t the first time Donghyuck had done this, although that came as no surprise to Jeno. Some part of him had wondered if Donghyuck went to a salon to get it done, but he figured this was probably the route most students took.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you need me to do?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mainly just make sure I don’t miss any chunks I guess. I couldn’t find my usual supplies or any gloves for that matter, so I’m just sorta gonna go fucking wild,” Donghyuck explained, popping open the cap of the bottle. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeno was only mildly worried of what the outcome might be. “Uh, okay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They both realized quite quickly that the bathroom was not built for two young men to fit into it comfortably. In the process, Jeno had already been elbowed three times, one of which he was fairly sure would bruise, but he couldn’t really be bothered since each time Donghyuck had offered to kiss them better.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Also it was incredibly warm. The body heat from the both of them in such a small space combined with the smell of dye had Jeno dizzy within the first ten minutes, but it didn’t seem to be bothering Donghyuck much. Instead, he just turned on the fan when Jeno threatened to pass out, which thankfully seemed to help some. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In the end, Jeno ended up doing more of the work than expected, covering a lot of the back so Donghyuck’s arms wouldn’t tire from the angle. MInutes into it, Donghyuck had moved to sit on the toilet so Jeno had a better angle to work with, which thankfully freed up a bit of space. His hands were stained a dark purple now to prove it. He had fared better than Donghyuck though who had gotten a glob on his nose, which they were able to wipe off before it strained, but the same couldn’t be said for the back of his neck. Surprisingly though, the plastic on the floor was spotless. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was more fun than Jeno had expected, he found satisfaction in making sure the dye was spread evenly and he couldn’t wait to see how it turned out. In fact, he enjoyed it enough that when Donghyuck joked about dyeing his next Jeno filed it away.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✰</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ready?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeno finished slipping his shoe on and straightened up. His hair was starting to get too long and he had to shake it out of his eyes. Eventually he would have to get a haircut, but Donghyuck had complimented the length offhandedly the other night, so Jeno wanted to see how long he could put up with it. He had to admit, it was a nice change for once. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where are we going again?” Jeno asked, swiping his set of keys from the counter before following Donghyuck out the door. Out of habit, Donghyuck stopped to watch Jeno lock the door</span>
  <span>—</span>
  <span> too many times Jeno had panicked while they were out, not able to remember if he had locked it or not, so now Donghyuck always made sure to pay attention, a second pair of eyes to reassure Jeno and ease him out of his panic. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The farmers market.” They stepped outside into the comfortable heat of spring and Jeno was glad he remembered to grab his sunglasses instead of just his glasses. “Mark was telling me how his girlfriend brought back these doughnuts that are apparently to fucking die for. His words, not mine by the way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I see.” The only thing Jeno could currently see was Donghyuck</span>
  <span>—</span>
  <span> skin golden against his white shirt and his (only slightly faded) purple hair shining in the light.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’ll be exciting. I haven’t been to one in ages, but my mom would always take my sister and I in the summer to get fresh fruit. You’ll love it.” Donghyuck grinned, brighter from the sun, brighter than life itself and Jeno’s mouth went dry. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It sounds nice,” Jeno commented, but all he could think about was Donghyuck's lips on his cheek months ago and how badly he wanted them to be on his mouth. Instead, he tried to shake the thoughts from his head and focus on the moment on hand, the one where Donghyuck was next to him, vibrant and full of life. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re so slow, baby. C’mon.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before he could say anything, Donghyuck reached out and intertwined his fingers with Jeno's, effectively rendering the older speechless as he dragged him in the direction of the farmers market. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was wild, Jeno wasn’t even sure if Donghyuck was aware of the effect he had on Jeno. He was just </span>
  <em>
    <span>so much </span>
  </em>
  <span>always, but after spending enough time with Donghyuck around his own friends, Jeno had just come to the conclusion that his roommate was affectionate with everyone so the pet names and touches never meant anything past platonic. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It hurt a bit, Jeno wasn’t dumb enough to deny that, but he was happy to take whatever he could get and right now that meant walking under the hot sun with his own personal sun, their hands burning where they were linked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✰</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>nana (9:02pm): </b>
</p><p>
  <span>JEN</span>
</p><p>
  <span>JENO</span>
</p><p>
  <span>JENOOOO</span>
</p><p>
  <span>LEE FUCKING JENO</span>
</p><p>
  <span>get ur ass over here!!!!! asap</span>
</p><p>
  <b>jeno (9:05pm): </b>
</p><p>
  <span>can it wait? i'm watching pacific rim with hyuck he's never seen it before???</span>
</p><p>
  <b>nana (9:05pm):</b>
</p><p>
  <span>on god i think im homophobic </span>
</p><p>
  <span>what happened to bros before hoes</span>
</p><p>
  <span>is nothing sacred anymore???</span>
</p><p>
  <span>what do u think asap means!?!?!!!</span>
</p><p>
  <b>jeno (9:06pm): </b>
</p><p>
  <span>omg ur so dramatic </span>
</p><p>
  <span>be right over</span>
</p><p>
  <b>nana (9:06pm): </b>
</p><p>
  <span>&lt;3 </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh thank god, you’re here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yours truly,” Jeno responded after shutting the door behind himself, slipping the key back into his pocket. Walking through the kitchen to where Jaemin was seated on his bed Jeno noted how lucky his friend was for having gotten a single dorm room. If Jeno had to ever live on campus, he definitely would have fought to get a unit like this. </span>
</p><p>
  <span> “Shut up, that doesn’t even make sense. Anyways, whatever, enough about you. Guess what.” Jaemin rolled his eyes, but the smile on his face gave him away. He was practically glowing.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeno stepped onto the foot of Jaemin’s bed, sitting cross legged with his pack against the wall. Faintly, he could hear music coming from one of the units on the floor making him thankful for the fact that he could indeed live off campus. “What?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Guess!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeno screwed up his face for effect while thinking, earning a laugh from Jaemin. “Um, you got one hundred on your bio quiz?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“God, I fucking wish. No. Yukhei, the one I met at your place?” Jeno didn’t say anything immediately waiting to see if Jaemin would go on. “Hot, super tall, really loud.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ah, so this was what was happening. “Yes, how could I forget. He tripped and face planted the first time we met and walks like a baby giraffe.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wouldn’t you if you were that tall?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeno couldn’t deny it, even if Yukhei was only slightly taller than both him and Jaemin anyways. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, he asked me out on a date,” Jaemin replied casually. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Saw that coming,</span>
  </em>
  <span> Jeno wanted to comment, but instead he smiled and acted surprised, causing Jaemin to launch into the story of how he ran into Yukhei after a group meeting in the library. Turns out Yukhei worked there part time at the technology help desk and gave Jaemin his number “in case of an emergency of your technology not working.” Give it another week and they had been texting on a regular basis whenever they had free time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So when’s the date?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not until next Saturday, but I think I’m going to try and visit him at work sometime this week.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cute. I bet he’ll love getting to see you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I hope so,” Jaemin said, uncharacteristically shy. Where Jeno was used to seeing his friend boisterous and outspoken it was sweet to see his more reserved side</span>
  <span>—</span>
  <span> out of Jaemin’s sight Jeno crossed his fingers wishing for things to work out in his favour. Although he hadn’t known Yukhei for long, he got the vibe Yukhei was a good person to the bone and had more than enough energy to match Jaemin, so he wasn’t too worried. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Exhaustion finally setting in, Jeno yawned, causing Jaemin to do the same which had both of them bursting into giggles, memories of late nights during elementary school crossing their minds.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s late, want to stay?” Jaemin asked, getting up from his bed to start going through his closest. Jeno knew enough to know that Jaemin was finding him a change of clothes for the night and that it would definitely be smart to stay since he was almost too tired to drive back the five minutes to his apartment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When offered, Jeno grabbed the sweats and shirt, suddenly wanting nothing more than to be curled up under warm blankets. He’d have to send a text to Donghyuck so he’d know where Jeno was for the night and wouldn’t stay up worrying. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’ll be like the good ol’ days.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Exactly, staying up late to talk about boys.” Jaemin pushed him in the direction of the bathroom. “Now go change so you can come back and cuddle me.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✰</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>hyuck (3:12 am):</b>
</p><p>
  <span>are u awake?</span>
</p><p>
  <b>jen (3:12 am):</b>
</p><p>
  <span>yeah</span>
</p><p>
  <span>why are u up?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The knock at Jeno’s door didn’t come as much of a surprise. It wasn’t the first time Donghyuck had texted Jeno at such an hour, last time it had been a nightmare and Jeno had held Donghyuck until the tears stopped and they both fell asleep in Jeno’s bed. He wondered if it was the same case this time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can I come in?” Donghyuck’s voice came quietly from the doorway. Jeno barely heard it with his earphones in. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can’t sleep?” He asked, pausing the video he was watching and locking his phone to give his roommate his full attention. Faintly, he could see Donghyuck nod. Without thinking, Jeno pulled his blankets back, patting the space beside him and hoped to god Donghyuck wouldn’t be weirded out. He never made a comment after the last time they shared a bed, so Jeno was brave enough to try again. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck moved across the room without hesitation, slipping into the empty space next to Jeno. Immediately, Jeno could feel the warmth radiating off the younger, bringing with him a comfort unlike any other. After checking to make sure it was ok, Jeno pulled Donghyuck closer until they were face to face with Jeno’s arms wrapped around Donghyuck’s waist. Like second nature, Donghyuck threw one of his legs over Jeno’s, tangling them together, burning Jeno where their bare skin touched. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anything on your mind?” Jeno asked after a moment of silence. It was distracting, being this close to Donghyuck, but Jeno tried his best to remember what he was here for. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck shifted in Jeno’s arms until he was laying on his back, but not making any further movement to escape. “Not really.” Jeno watched him blink at the ceiling a couple times, his heart aching for the boy. Sure, Donghyuck was the sun, but there was something so </span>
  <em>
    <span>right</span>
  </em>
  <span> about the way the moonlight shone off his skin in the dimness of Jeno’s bedroom.  “Just missing home, I guess.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mhmm. How’s your mom doing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good. She called earlier, she had to go after like ten minutes, but it was nice to talk to her.” The tiredness in Donghyuck’s voice was evident. Jeno felt his heart shatter a bit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The semester will be over you know it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It fucking better be.” Donghyuck fell quiet after that and Jeno wondered if he had drifted off to sleep. His voice was quiet enough that if not for the little distance between them, Jeno may not have heard him. “Then I’ll have you to miss instead. I guess I’m just destined to be homesick no matter where I am.”</span>
</p><p><span>The flame in Jeno’s heart spread until he was sure he would breathe fire if he were to open his mouth</span><span>.</span> <em><span>I’ll follow you anywhere, </span></em><span>he wanted to say,</span><em><span> just say the word. </span></em></p><p>
  <span>“I’m not going anywhere, Hyuck.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good to know.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✰</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What the fuck do you mean you’ve never been bowling?” Jaemin looked truly shocked, mouth open and all, when he turned to look at Mark. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um, I’ve just never been?” Mark looked a little surprised as to why it was seemingly such a big deal. Next to him Donghyuck reached out to pat his friend's arm in reassurance, he was smiling, clearly amused at Jaemin’s exaggerated hurt.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jaemin pushed open the door to the building and held it while they all filed in, Mark and Donghyuck bringing up the rear of the group. “Thank god we’re about to change that or I don’t think we could be friends.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It took nearly twenty minutes for all of them to pay and get their pair of shoes. Jeno spent most of the time watching Yukhei flirt with Jaemin and Jaemin retaliating back as Renjun went back to the counter three times before finding a size of shoes that fit him. Never in a million years did Jeno think someone would be on the same level of Jaemin’s flirtatious nature but he figured that made them the perfect pair even if they were slightly nauseating to be around. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, who’s up first?” Renjun asked as they made their way over to their assigned lane; without a beat Donghyuck nudged Mark forward claiming the newbie got to go first. Nobody objected so Mark continued to move forward and typed in his name to the computer. The rest of them proceeded in a similar fashion until all six names were entered on the screen. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It didn’t take long for Jeno to remember that he sort of really fucking sucked at bowling</span>
  <span>— his first three balls ending up straight in the gutter. Thankfully, the same could be said for Renjun who only ended up scoring two points on his first turn. They both walked back from their turn in shame. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The real dangerous one turned out to be Yukhei who knocked over nine of the pins on his first roll, cleaning up the next one with the next ball. </span>
  <span>After a particularly impressive strike Jaemin ran up to plant his lips on Yukhei’s in a rather aggressive manner, nearly knocking the taller off his feet.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the fuck, get a room,” Jeno cried out, pretending to hide in Donghyuck’s neck who just giggled at the antics in front of him. At least outings with them were never boring. Next to him Mark looked semi-mortified at such a public display of affection and Jeno felt responsible enough to start apologizing for his friends. So much for a good first impression. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh please, as if I didn’t find you making out with Kim Jungwoo under the bleachers in tenth grade. Or Seokyoung in the art room for that matter,” Renjun said, an obnoxious smirk on his face. Without thinking, Jeno reached out to smack his arm, the noise coincidentally was what got Jaemin and Yukhei to separate. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh? Do tell.” Donghyuck’s eyes sparkled, his voice sweet with obvious interest and Jeno hated how much he wanted to give in despite the fact that he knew he would never get to live it down. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh my fucking god.” Mortified, Jeno dropped his head into his hands, ignoring the way Jaemin barked out a laugh. Thank god Yangyang wasn’t present too or Jeno would be horrified about his reputation. “You said you’d never mention it again,” he whined at Renjun. It was worth it though since he was pretty sure it was Donghyuck’s hand rubbing a comforting circle on his back.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Whoops.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re turn, Markie,” Jaemin cooed from where he was tucked under Yukhei’s arm. By the way Mark launched himself up, Jeno assumed he had been waiting for a moment to escape the conversation, not that he could blame him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck’s hand stopped moving on his back and tugged on his arm, drawing Jeno’s attention back to him. “So?” To add to it all, he wiggled his eyebrows causing Jeno to break out into laughter, although he couldn’t tell how much was from pure embarrassment from the whole ordeal. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shook his head. “Never.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re so cute when you’re embarrassed.” Donghyuck pinched his cheek and somewhere Jeno registered Renjun making a quiet wheeze. He was dead to Jeno after today.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Luckily, Jeno was saved when Mark came back to his spot on the bench signalling it was Jeno’s turn next. A quick look at the board showed Yukhei in first, followed closely by Mark. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Never been bowling my ass</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Jeno thought. Jeno ended the round with a solid four points earned to add to his total of fifteen.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>In the end, Yukhei took the win although Mark only lost by ten points, which earned him a couple pats on the back from the group and a new level of respect. Perhaps to nobody's surprise after seeing him bowl, Jeno placed last, causing Donghyuck to gloat overjoyed that he found something Jeno wasn’t good at. It didn’t bother Jeno much though, he was just happy enough to be spending time with his friends even if they were insufferable. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now what?” Donghyuck asked as he placed his place of rental shoes on the counter and rejoined the group that was now standing in the front entrance looking thoroughly lost. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ice cream anyone?” Jaemin suggested when nobody spoke up, earning a couple nods. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Only if you’re paying.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✰</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>yang x2 (8:23pm): </b>
</p><p>
  <span>how’s things going w ur non-bf?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>ten wants to know btw not me </span>
</p><p>
  <b>jen (8:24pm):</b>
</p><p>
  <span>glad to know u still care abt me yang &lt;3</span>
</p><p>
  <span>also good i guess..the usual.. he’s still not my bf</span>
</p><p>
  <b>yang x2 (8:34pm):</b>
</p><p>
  <span>BOOOOO</span>
</p><p>
  <span>ASK HIM OUT COWARD!</span>
</p><p>
  <b>jen (8:37pm):</b>
</p><p>
  <span>idek if he likes me like that</span>
</p><p>
  <b>yang x2 (8:40pm): </b>
</p><p>
  <span>from what jun was telling me its pretty obvious he does but ok :/</span>
</p><p>
  <b>jen (8:40pm): </b>
</p><p>
  <span>omg that traitor…..</span>
</p><p>
  <span>listen he’s just projecting bc jaem has gone and got himself a bf and therefore stopped moping around so now he’s just looking for entertainment </span>
</p><p>
  <span>ANYWAYS</span>
</p><p>
  <span>how’s school?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>also tell ten to treat me to coffee if he wants to talk so bad wtf</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✰</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeno for the most part was a very sensible person; he tried very hard to be someone his mother would be proud to call her son. He kept a fairly tight budget around his spendings, he went to the gym when he remembered, he tried (keyword: tried) to limit his bubble tea intake to once a week, and he usually chose studying over an invite to a party. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Which led him to his current predicament. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck was standing in his doorway (after having knocked of course, ever the gentleman) dressed in skinny black jeans that had more rips in the thighs than were good for Jeno’s health, a simple white shirt with a collar low enough that you could see a fair amount of his collarbones, a simple necklace around his neck, and a leather jacket to top it all off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Last week he had dyed his hair back to his natural black which Jeno eagerly admitted was his favorite look so far. To him, it made Donghyuck look softer, closer to human, but in this moment with it styled up and out of his face Jeno couldn’t find the same sentiment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are you sure you can’t come out with us?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeno nodded, not able to trust what words might come out of his mouth. All he wanted to do currently was throw himself at Donghyuck’s feet in worship. He looked down at his textbook with a plea for help. It did nothing in return. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Guess I’ll just die then</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Jeno thought. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve been working so hard lately, don’t you think you deserve to have some fun? It’s only one night.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know, Hyuck.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“C’mon,” Donghyuck said, drawing out the syllables, pouting like he knew the effect he had on Jeno. And Jeno, if nothing, was weak for Donghyuck.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s not like Jeno hadn’t been to his fair share of parties, only dragged along by his friends, but he learnt pretty quickly they weren’t really his favorite place to be. Usually crowds of people didn’t have much of an effect on Jeno even if he preferred smaller gatherings, but alcohol tended to bring out the worst in people and that made Jeno just want to avoid it all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He told Donghyuck as much, contemplating opening his mouth again before his brain could stop him. “I guess...I’m just not very good at dancing either. I feel like that takes a lot of the fun out of it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jen,” Donghyuck said with all the care in the world, making his way over to the bed as he continued. “I can promise that people are there to have fun and are too drunk to care how you look, regardless of if you can actually dance or not. Also, I can guarantee the only people who would be watching you are the ones who think you’re hot.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeno groaned, hiding his head in his hand while pushing on Donghyuck’s shoulder with the other. He ignored the squawk Donghyuck let out as he caught himself from falling off the bed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Would you come if I showed you how to dance?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hyuck...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s no fun without you there,” Donghyuck whined, knowing he was good at getting what he wanted, especially when it came to how weak Jeno was for him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Donghyuck</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The room was silent for a moment while Donghyuck moved to the centre of what little floor space Jeno had. Jeno’s heart beat a rapid pace in his chest, nerves swarming up to his ears. This was dangerous. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just come stand here in front of me,” Donghyuck directed, never taking his eyes off Jeno, only gesturing with a come hither motion that had Jeno weak in the knees before he even stood up. “Ok, so, first things first.” Music flooded the silence as Donghyuck selected one of his playlists, Jeno didn’t recognize the song, but he hoped the beat would cover up the noise of his heart. “Move your hips to the music,” Donghyuck said, doing just that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeno debated if it was illegal to watch because it certainly felt like it. The way Donghyuck moved was captivating and if Jeno hasn’t been attracted to his roommate before he certainly was now. All too sudden, Donghyuck’s hands were on his hips, not harsh, but with enough force to start moving Jeno to the music with him. Jeno gulped and looked up only to be met with a blinding smile from Donghyuck, his eyes bright. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See, not too bad is it?” Donghyuck tipped his head in question. Jeno veins burned and came to life under Donghyuck’s touch. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I guess not,” Jeno admitted. To be fair, it was the truth, but he had a feeling it had too much to do with Donghyuck and very little to do with anything else. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Just as he was starting to think maybe he could cope with the current situation Donghyuck pulled the rug out from under him. Catching Jeno completely off guard, Donghyuck spun him around so they were back to chest and pressed himself close to Jeno. The rush of blood to Jeno’s face left him dizzy and he was sure that if Donghyuck’s hands didn’t have a grip on his hips his knees would have given out and Jeno would be nothing more than a puddle on the ground. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now this part is easy.” Donghyuck laughed from behind Jeno sounding breathless.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The song changed to something with a similar tempo, but had bass that Jeno felt shake his bones. Being this close to Donghyuck was far too dangerous, but god if it wasn’t addicting. Overwhelmed, Jeno leaned his head back, falling on Donghyuck’s shoulder, eyes closed. It smelled faintly like lemons from Donghyuck’s shampoo, but there was something deeper layered over it</span>
  <span>—</span>
  <span> likely cologne that Donghyuck put on for the night. Jeno decided it wasn’t bad, but he liked Donghyuck’s natural scent more. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look at you, baby.” Donghyuck’s voice sounded strained in his ear, his breath hot on Jeno’s neck and Jeno’s eyes snapped open to his mirror in front of them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It dawned on Jeno with horror that he was practically grinding with Donghyuck alone in his room like drunk horny teenagers at a party. Except for the fact that he was completely sober and was fairly certain Donghyuck was too. It was all too much too fast and Jeno lurched forward, breaking away from Donghyuck, breaking whatever spell had been over the both of them.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I-I really need to study,” he said, trying to keep his voice steady when all he could hear in his head was blaring alarms. Too embarrassed to turn around Jeno continued to stare at the wall, trying to catch his breath with every passing second. Unfortunately, he was all too aware that Donghyuck could probably see how bright red his ears were even from across the room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was silent for a moment and Jeno briefly wondered if Donghyuck had left somehow without him noticing, deciding it would be plausible since the rush of blood in his ears had drowned everything else out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But no, a second or an eternity later there was a cough from behind him followed by Donghyuck’s voice although it still sounded slightly strained. “Right. Of course. I’ll be going then.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeno didn’t try to stop him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✰</span>
</p><p> </p><p><span>“So, when were you going to tell me you and Hyuck are dating?” Renjun asked, taking a seat on the counter as Jeno scrambled through the fridge looking for something</span><span>—</span> <em><span>anything</span></em><span> edible.  </span></p><p>
  <span>Jeno pulled back so fast he smacked his head on the freezer door. With his head in his hands he turned to look at Renjun, a mixture of confusion and pain evident on his face. “Because we aren’t...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At that, Renjun just laughed. “You’re even dumber than I thought.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Instead of dignifying his friend with a response Jeno flipped Renjun off, turning his attention back to the fridge and pushing any thoughts of Donghyuck out of his mind. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✰</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeno didn’t expect to find himself at a party so soon after the whole Donghyuck ordeal, but Renjun had begged enough about not wanting to be a fourth wheel around Jaemin and Yukhei that Jeno had felt bad and caved. Plus, with his exam out of the way there was finally a bit of an excuse to get fucked up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The regret was almost immediate when they stepped through the door. Whatever music was playing was loud enough to drown out any thoughts and the smell of weed was strong enough that Jeno wondered if he could get high from the secondhand smoke. Following his friends, they went straight to the kitchen for starters, Jaemin and Yukhei already searching out the drinks. The floor was sticky underneath their feet; Jeno scrunched his face in disgust. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Renjun had valiantly declared himself the designated diver for the night, but Jeno figured he just wanted to be sober enough to collect blackmail material</span>
  <span>—</span>
  <span> especially since Jeno had told him some, but not all, of what had transpired between him and Donghyuck. When Jaemin offered him a cup of god knows what, Jeno gladly accepted, drinking it fast enough that he barely had to suffer through the taste. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Take it easy there champ,” Renjun said, his face clearly assumed. Not being one for parties, Jeno usually wasn’t one to drink much either, but he hadn’t been joking when he told Renjun earlier he was here to get drunk</span>
  <span>—</span>
  <span> there were some things he didn’t want to think about. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The party progressed in snapshots for the rest of the night for Jeno. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>At some point Yukhei dragged Jaemin to chat with some of his other friends, abandoning Jeno and Renjun. Jeno only saw the couple once more during the night on the dance floor. They were some of the only ones actually dancing, but they didn’t look out of place or awkward at all to which Jeno chalked it up to them both being a part of the dance club. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thankfully, Renjun stayed by Jeno’s side for most of the night. Except for some time after Jeno’s sixth drink when he found himself sitting alone on the kitchen floor. He wasn’t too sure where Renjun disappeared to or </span>
  <em>
    <span>when</span>
  </em>
  <span> the other boy had left for that matter, but Jeno wasn't too concerned with the location of the other. Instead, he was busy thinking about Donghyuck. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck, who lit up any room he walked into and laughed at all of Jeno’s jokes even when they weren’t funny. Donghyuck, who convinced Jeno to start buying oak milk because it was the most sustainable for the planet and in Donghyuck's eyes every little action mattered. Donghyuck, who crawled into his bed in the early morning sometimes from a nightmare or sometimes from homesickness, but always seeking out Jeno’s comfort. Donghyuck, who wore his heart on his sleeve, was easy with his affection and lit a fire in Jeno’s heart. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck, who Jeno knew that he liked a little more than a friend and had for months now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The pain in his heart was sudden and had Jeno leaning over where he sat, clutching at his chest. Being at the party was all of a sudden too much</span>
  <span>— he wanted out</span>
  <span>. The world wouldn’t stop spinning and Jeno wanted so badly to be laying in his bed next to Donghyuck. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thanks to muscle memory, Jeno reached for his phone and pressed dial on Renjun’s number, listening to it ring twice before he heard his friend's voice. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Where are you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeno closed his eyes to try and stop the floor from tilting under him. “Where you left me. I want to go home.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll be right there okay? Just stay there. Let me text Jaem and then I’ll drive you home okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeno hummed an affirmative, ending the call to try and steady his breathing. It only took a couple minutes for Renjun to make his way back and considerably longer for him to get Jeno off the floor and into his car that was parked down the block. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The ride back wasn’t too eventful, Renjun turned the radio off the second Jeno complained about the pounding in his head, so all he had to focus on was the silence. Left alone with his thoughts Jeno couldn't help but grow anxious the closer they got to his apartment. Sure, he and Donghyuck had talked since the night in his room, but they had reverted back to formalities that had only lasted the first week of Donghyuck’s arrival. Now though Jeno was too aware of his feelings and his lack of filter and the thought of seeing Donghyuck was nearly sickening. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>If he was lucky, the other boy would be asleep by the time he arrived home. Jeno crossed his fingers. </span>
</p><p><span>The ride passed in a blur, Jeno briefly remembered Renjun offering to walk him up, but Jeno must have refused because he was standing alone in front of his door. He tried the doorknob to find it was locked and</span><span>—</span> <em><span>yes Jeno, of course it’s locked, you need the key</span></em><span>. </span></p><p>
  <span>Before his hand was even at his back pocket the door was swinging open, Donghyuck standing in the entrance, illuminated by the light coming from inside. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re so cute,” Jeno blurted before he could think to stop himself because fuck, Donghyuck looked really cute. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was evident that he fell asleep on the couch</span>
  <span>—</span>
  <span>Jeno’s heart swelled at the fact Donghyuck was waiting for him</span>
  <span>—</span>
  <span>the usual blanket that sat folded on it was wrapped around his shoulders and his hair was sticking up on the side where he must have fallen asleep because even if it was a natural colour again, the bleach had left it pretty dead. Jeno had the sudden urge to reach out and flatten it. The only thing that stopped him was the squawk Donghyuck let out, reminding Jeno of what had just come out of his mouth. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He could feel his face heat up even more so on top of the effect of the alcohol in his system. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Let’s get you to bed.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck reached out wrapping a hand around Jeno’s wrist and dragged him inside their apartment. Jeno’s skin warmed under his touch. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The next several minutes were a mess of Donghyuck urging Jeno to change while he disappeared to prepare water and Advil for the other. Jeno tried, he really had, but he only got as far as changing his pants before Donghyuck was back and urged him into bed with gentle hands. Selfishly, Jeno wanted nothing more than to grab the boy's hand and drag him down, to tangle up their limbs until they wouldn’t be able to tell where one began and the other ended. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Instead, Jeno stuck his hands out, grabbing at the air where Donghyuck had stepped back. “Do I get a goodnight kiss?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck mumbled something that Jeno’s brain couldn’t decipher in his exhausted state and leaned in to press his lips to Jeno’s forehead. The warmth was pleasant but Jeno frowned because no</span>
  <span>—</span>
  <span> that wouldn’t do. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I meant on my lips,” he whined. Sleep tugged on the edge of his vision, his eyes closing without permission.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Jeno</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It sounded like a warning and Jeno belatedly wondered what he said that was so wrong. Donghyuck had always been so affectionate with him, so why was this any different? He wanted to respond, but his tongue was heavy in his mouth and speaking was too much effort. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re drunk, go to sleep.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✰</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Explain to me again how you fucked up.” Renjun leaned over his iced matcha latte to look Jeno dead in the eyes, obviously ready for a good story. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It had been a couple days since the party and currently they had taken over one of the tables at The Bean</span>
  <span>—</span>
  <span> one of the campus’ less frequented cafes that they tended to frequent mostly because Renjun’s brother worked there and gave them a pretty good discount. Papers were sprawled across the table, but had been quickly forgotten when Jeno had blurted out how badly he had messed up with Donghyuck. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Unfortunately for Jeno, he knew this was probably the highlight of Renjun’s week. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think Donghyuck hates me.” Jeno launched into his retelling of the night of the party after Renjun dropped him off at home, leaving out the embarrassing details like how Donghyuck made him feel like he had swallowed the sun whole. “He hasn’t brought it up or anything, I’m scared I made him uncomfortable. He’s been a lot quieter than usual.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Have you tried to talk about it with him?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well no, not really.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Renjun hummed at that, taking a sip of his drink before asking, “Then why do you expect him to come to you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeno sighed. From experience, he knew Renjun was the best to go to for advice, but he sometimes wished Renjun wasn’t as straightforward as he was. There was value in honesty except Jeno only chose to see it when it wasn’t being used against him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s always the more vocal one of us, like if something is bothering him, he doesn’t stay quiet about it which is why I’m scared that I really fucked it up this time.” Jeno’s grip on his own drink tightened.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What if he thinks you don’t remember that night? You were pretty gone.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I guess yeah.” Jeno considered Renjun’s hypothesis, he didn’t understand why Donghyuck hadn’t rubbed it in his face if that was the case. The way Jeno saw it, Donghyuck had an advantage over him now, or at least through he did, and the silence was throwing Jeno off. “But I do remember unfortunately.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Renjun swiped at some of the condensation that had gathered on his cup, drawing a smiley face. Without thinking, Jeno reached out and turned it into a frown; Renjun blew air out his nose. “Jeno, he’s probably just confused. You need to talk to him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And what?” Jeno lowered his voice as if Donghyuck himself was sitting at the table next to them eavesdropping in on every word. “Tell him how I feel?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Renjun nodded. “I mean, while you did come to me for advice I can’t tell you how to live your life, but it’s probably not the worst idea to have everything out in the open.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeno fucking hated when Renjun made sense. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He sat quietly for a moment, different scenarios playing over in his mind when he told Donghyuck about his feelings, but they all had the same ending. “And when I crash at your apartment for a week because he’s rejected me and I can’t stand being in a space that we share?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“God, you’re hanging around Jaemin too much</span>
  <span>— </span>
  <span>drama queens, I swear.” A laugh forced itself out of Renjun’s mouth and he took a moment to collect himself. “Jeno, I say this with all the love in my heart because we’re friends, but you are so fucking dumb if you don’t see that Donghyuck obviously feels something for you too. I just think you need to stop being such a coward.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s scary.” The words sounded pathetic to Jeno the second he opened his mouth, but they were honest. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, but I also know you’re brave and lovely and deserve to be happy, Jeno. You don’t have to love him just from the sidelines you know?” The look on Renjun’s face was too concerned, too genuine for Jeno to hold eye contact for long, so he ducked his head pretending to look at his notebook in front of him. “Think about what I said at least okay?” He waited until Jeno nodded. “Now what did you get for question six?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✰</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <b>hyuck (2:36pm): </b>
</p><p>
  <span>need anything from the store while i'm here?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>i guess ur studying…..</span>
</p><p>
  <span>see u at home!</span>
</p><p>
  <b>hyuck (6:12pm):</b>
</p><p>
  <span>do u want to go get something for dinner tonight??? i don't wanna cook T__T</span>
</p><p>
  <b>hyuck (7:06pm):</b>
</p><p>
  <span>i'm just going to go i’m too hungry to wait sorry :(</span>
</p><p>
  <b>hyuck (10:56pm):</b>
</p><p>
  <span>when are u gonna be home tonight?</span>
</p><p>
  <b>jen (12:07am):</b>
</p><p>
  <span>oh sorry </span>
</p><p>
  <span>im staying at renjun’s tonight</span>
</p><p>
  <b>hyuck (12:07am):</b>
</p><p>
  <span>ok!!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✰</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t easy, but Jeno had spent the last several days doing his best to avoid Donghyuck. It wasn’t easy because this was Donghyuck’s apartment as much as it was his and there was no place to escape to that didn’t have some aspect of Donghyuck’s influence over it. Of course, it made sense for Donghyuck’s belongings in the living room since it was a shared space, but that didn’t apply to the polaroids on Jeno’s bedroom walls and one of Donghyuck’s hoodies piled at the end of Jeno’s bed since he let Jeno borrow it weeks ago and Jeno kept forgetting to give it back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Which is why he found himself sitting at their kitchen table to work on his assignment since Donghyuck was out meeting with his group for a project (or at least that’s what their shared calendar on the fridge claimed).</span>
</p><p>
  <span>While adjusting to Donghyuck entering his life had been a breeze, trying to go about a life without him made Jeno feel like he was losing a limb. Everything without Donghyuck was slow and dim and Jeno felt like the hours of each day dragged by painfully reminding him too often of how long he had gone without talking to Donghyuck. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sure they had exchanged some words in passing, since it was physically impossible for Jeno to avoid him if they were both home (which they were more often than not because Renjun hadn’t let Jeno stay the night again after the first time claiming it was for Jeno’s own good), but it had nearly been a week since they had an actual conversation. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Instead, Jeno shifted his focus to his schoolwork, actually turning in assignments on time both to his and his professors' surprise. Telling himself that this was for Donghyuck made it slightly easier. It was clear that Jeno had messed up somewhere along the line and made Donghyuck uncomfortable and sure, Renjun was probably right when he said they should talk things out, but Jeno wasn’t sure if he was ready for that yet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Talking meant feelings and feelings mean admitting he liked Donghyuck a bit more than a friend. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Catching him off guard, a plastic bag was set down gently beside his laptop as if not to startle him. Jeno blinked a couple times. Too caught up in his assignment and mind, he hadn’t realized how late it had gotten, the sun dipping below the horizon out the window. His music had been loud enough that he hadn’t even heard Donghyuck return back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s this?” He asked, taking out his earphones and looking up at the boy who was now standing in front of him. It was a habit at this point, but his heart lurched at the sight of Donghyuck. The boy looked tired, Jeno realized, an uncomfortable pang in his heart. Donghyuck looked paler than usual which Jeno hoped was just the lighting, but he couldn’t ignore the dark circles packed under his usually shining eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck sighed. “It’s stir fry, dumbass.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Undoing the knot on the bag Jeno realized it wasn’t just any stir fry</span>
  <span>—</span>
  <span> it was from his favorite restaurant, the only location being at least a thirty minute drive away. Jeno had taken Donghyuck there in the early weeks of them living together demanding he needed to experience it for himself. It shocked him a little that Donghyuck remembered his order seeing that they hadn’t been back since.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t need to get me anything…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What else was I supposed to do? You won’t talk to me, you barely leave your room anymore, I’m worried about you, Jeno. Plus, they always say food is the way to a man’s heart,” Donghyuck added, obviously trying to make the situation lighter.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was horrible, hearing how defeated and quiet Donghyuck sounded and knowing that he was the cause. Guilt wrapped itself around Jeno’s heart. No matter how much he apologized he knew it would never be enough.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry. Thank you, Donghyuck,” he said, fishing around in the plastic bag for the pair of chopsticks. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See that’s what I mean. Since when do you ever call me Donghyuck? Are you okay? Did I do something wrong, is that why you’ve been so distant with me?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Horrified that Donghyuck might have spent the last week blaming himself for Jeno’s mood hurt Jeno more than he would care to admit, but given the circumstances he understood how Donghyuck could have come to that conclusion. He shook his head, hoping that Donghyuck would believe him, unsure of how much to reveal. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No it’s- it’s not you, I promise.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The answer seemed to satisfy Donghyuck, at least for the moment, and Jeno took the opportunity to all but inhale his stir fry. Even though Jeno felt like he didn’t deserve it, he would feel worse not touching it knowing that Donghyuck had used his own money and time to get something for Jeno</span>
  <span>— a peace offering of sorts.</span>
  <span> About halfway through, he realized it was the first thing he had eaten all day. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After he was finished, Jeno abandoned his laptop at the table to take a seat on the couch, barely surprised when Donghyuck followed. It was about time to take a break from his assignment anyways. Unsure of what to say, Jeno picked up the remote instead, clicking play on an old episode of </span>
  <em>
    <span>Community</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re okay right?” Donghyuck broke the silence as Jeff made a snarky comment on screen. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeno turned to look at him, butterflies shifting uncomfortably in his chest. More than anything, he wanted everything to go back to normal. “Of course.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know you can talk to me right?” And </span>
  <em>
    <span>oh</span>
  </em>
  <span>, that one hurt. Donghyuck was too good for him, he deserved someone who was better at feelings than Jeno.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing?” Jeno asked as Donghyuck moved closer, wrapping his arms around Jeno’s middle and resting his head on Jeno’s shoulder. Softly, he pushed until Jeno leaned back, laying down on the couch with Donghyuck curled on top of him. It wasn’t like they hadn’t cuddled before, but it had been the last thing Jeno had been expecting at the moment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Comforting you,” Donghyuck said, like he was ordering at his go to order at his favorite restaurant</span>
  <span>—</span>
  <span> not an ounce of hesitation to be found. “Is it helping?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” Jeno hummed. After a couple deep breaths, he let his eyes fall closed, basking in the heat radiating off Donghyuck’s body. It was nice, Donghyuck acting as his own personal weighted blanket, keeping him down to earth. A selfish part of him wanted to be able to stay like this forever.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t have to do everything alone, alright Jeno?” Donghyuck began running his fingers through Jeno’s hair, starting by pushing his fringe off his face and repeating the motion. Jeno melted into the couch under him, sleep pulling at the edges of his vision. “Relax, I’ve got you.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✰</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh my god,” Donghyuck exclaimed loudly, drawing the attention of Jeno and other patrons passing by at the farmers market, although he gave no mind to the latter. “They have the peach ones again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>To prove his point, he tugged Jeno in the direction of the gourmet doughnut booth, their joined hands acting as a tether. The first time they made it to the farmers market they split a peach cobbler doughnut that Donghyuck was quick to claim was the best thing he had ever tasted. To say Donghyuck had been more than crushed when they had gone back the next time to learn that the baked goods offered were rotated week to week was an understatement. He had spent every subsequent trip on the lookout for them.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The look on his face was ecstatic and Jeno realized that this was it</span>
  <span>— h</span>
  <span>e couldn’t stand being just friends with Donghyuck anymore when all he wanted was nothing more than to plant a kiss on Donghyuck’s mouth, the crowd at the farmers market be damned. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before Donghyuck could do it himself, Jeno stepped closer to the stand, drawing the attention of the lady manning it. “Could I get a box of the peach cobbler ones please?” He asked, a pleasant smile on his face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck leaned into Jeno’s space until he was close enough that others wouldn’t be able to hear him when he hissed. “What the fuck are you doing?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Buying you doughnuts?” Jeno turned to look at him, wondering what was so confusing about the situation. He was met with an equally confused expression on Donghyuck’s face that made him want to burst out into laughter at the oddity of the situation. Instead, he passed over a couple bills to the lady, accepting the box of doughnuts from her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But so many?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can freeze them. That way you won’t have to wait weeks without one again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck stared up at him in awe before breaking out into a brilliant smile. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re a fucking genius Lee Jeno?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Once or twice.” He shrugged, trying to stay nonchalant, but the praise from Donghyuck was worth more than any A+. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay well, I’m good. Is there anywhere else you want to go?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeno took a deep breath before he spoke up, it was now or never. “There’s actually a park up this way I’ve always wanted to check out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The park was only a few minutes away, but it took them nearly fifteen minutes to reach it as they</span>
  <span>—mainly Donghyuck—took the time to look at the other shops as they passed. It was nice honestly, walking around hand in hand, Donghyuck's other hand occupied by holding his eco bag that he had tucked the box of doughnuts into. Jeno just hoped the younger wasn’t able to tell how sweaty his hand was getting, or worse be able to feel how fast his pulse had picked up.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was fairly empty when they arrived, only a mother watching her two kids run through the grass and an elderly couple sitting on a bench under the weeping willow tree. The park itself was picturesque— bright green grass, trees spaced out around the edges making it feel more isolated than it really was, and beds of vibrant flowers spaced out throughout it all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s really nice here,” Donghyuck said, voicing Jeno’s thoughts. Pulling out his phone, Donghyuck crouched to get a better angle of the flowers and Jeno knew he would be seeing the photos later on Instagram. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They walked around the park aimlessly for a bit, Jeno trying to build up the courage to face what he wanted to say. Sure he had confessed to people before, but Donghyuck wasn’t just anybody and Jeno was terrified of messing things up between them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It only took a bit of convincing but eventually Jeno got Donghyuck to join him sitting on the grass, a little bit away from the more populated areas of the park. To Jeno it felt like they were in their own little world. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi.” Donghyuck reached up to brush down a piece of Jeno’s hair that the wind must have ruffled up, startling him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have something to say,” Jeno blurted before he could stop himself. Thankfully, Donghyuck just nodded, allowing Jeno to take a couple deep breaths before deciding to continue. “I really like you, Hyuck. Like a lot. I’m really sorry, but I had to say it because I</span>
  <span>—</span>
  <span>I don’t think I could keep it to myself any longer, but I understand if you don’t feel the same. I can go stay at Renjun’s for a bit if you need space and then we can figure out something with the apartment.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The last thing Jeno had expected Donghyuck to do was burst out into laughter, but much like Renjun when Jeno had denied dating Donghyuck, the younger laughed like this whole thing was the funniest joke he had ever heard. Jeno’s heart began to crack a little and he turned his head away from Donghyuck, trying to hide the growing upset on his face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, Jeno. You’re so dumb, baby.” Donghyuck’s voice was soft, but not as soft as his hands that reached out to either side of Jeno’s face, turning him back to face Donghyuck who now looked too serious for Jeno’s liking. “I like you too, if that wasn’t obvious.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeno’s brain effectively restarted, shutting down before buffering and starting back up, a chain reaction of realizations hitting him all at once. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, you mean</span>
  <span>—</span>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I’ve been flirting with you for the last like seven months, thanks for finally cluing in.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh my fucking god. So you like me back?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once again Donghyuck nodded. He had been positively beaming for the last couple minutes to the extent that Jeno wondered if his cheeks were sore from it. Slowly, he moved one of his hands from Jeno’s cheek to tuck a piece of hair behind his ear before trailing down his neck to land on his shoulder. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, Jeno, will you do me the favour of being my boyfriend?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeno felt the need to pinch his own arm to see if this was all real and not just an elaborate prank being played by his friends. Instead, he focused in on the weight from Donghyuck’s hand on his shoulder, realizing that yes, this was very real. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes. Yes, of course. You stole my moment, I was supposed to ask you that,” he pouted, not that he could be truly upset with the outcome. Not when Donghyuck was bright and grinning and the butterflies in his stomach were doing their victory lap. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Donghyuck just giggled, moving with Jeno until they were laying side by side in the grass, their foreheads pressed together. For a split second Jeno wondered what they looked like to anyone else in the park before deciding he didn’t care enough. “Are you kidding? I've been waiting to do it for months, let me have this moment.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeno smiled warmly and after what felt like an eternity he spoke up again. “Do you remember what I said when I was drunk.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wasn’t sure if you remembered,” Donghyuck admitted, tracing a finger over Jeno’s jaw and then to his lips causing a shiver to run through his body.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can I?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The word yes was still warm on Donghyuck’s lips as Jeno leaned forward connecting their mouths, not another care in the world except for the boy who held his heart. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>✰</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jeno walked into the living room, his heart heavy at the sight of the boxes piled up. It was hard to believe that at one point he had never even known Donghyuck, when now the thought of having to be apart for a couple months depressed him greatly. He found himself repeatedly reminding himself it was just for a couple months, some couples were long distance for a year or more at times, so they should consider themselves fortunate. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was some comfort though, just days ago they had talked everything through and had decided to renew the lease for the next school year. So while Donghyuck was going home for the summer Jeno would continue to live at the apartment as he already had an internship lined up at a firm and Donghyuck would be back by the time school started again in fall. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Arms wrapped their way around Jeno’s waist, a familiar warmth materializing against his back. A grin formed on his face despite everything. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi baby,” Donghyuck replied, pressing a gentle kiss to Jeno’s shoulder through the thin material of his shirt. His one hand moved up and down Jeno’s front in a comforting manner that had Jeno melting back into his boyfriend.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They stood like that for what felt like an hour, taking in the comfort of one another, knowing they would have to adapt to being apart. Thankfully, Yangyang and Ten had offered their experiences and expertise, so Jeno wasn’t too worried. It would be a change, but also an opportunity for growth. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Got everything?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think. It’s not like I won’t be back often enough though, so I can just make sure to grab anything then.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeno turned in Donghyuck’s arms so he was facing the other, adoring the way he had to look down a little bit to catch Donghyuck’s eye. With all the care in the world, he took Donghyuck’s face in his hands wanting to commit the feeling, his presence, his gaze, to memory. “I’m going to miss you so fucking much.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll miss you too, love.” Donghyuck smiled sadly and Jeno knew he was only trying to keep it together for Jeno’s sake. They had spent their last evening together in each other's arms as Donghyuck cried, matching tears rolling silently down Jeno’s face. “It’s only for a couple months though and I’ll be back to visit lots.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, but it won’t be the same without you here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s only for a little while, we’ll be okay.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Jeno knew his boyfriend was right, but he still wasn’t looking forward to being apart for any extended period of time. They would be okay though; that was a fact that Jeno was sure of. It had taken them long enough to get to where they were and Jeno wasn’t about to let all that hard work go down the drain. The hard work and waiting was more than worth it for Donghyuck.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come home to me, yeah?” Jeno asked, pressing a soft kiss to Donghyuck’s lips, trying to memorize the feeling. He could feel Donghyuck smile into the kiss.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Always."</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>this was soooo much fun to write i hope u enjoyed it as much as i did! please let me know what u thought!!! ive lost the post by now but this was inspired by screenshots of a reddit post abt an oblivious lesbian wondering if her roommate had feelings for her even tho they acted super couple-y together which i thought was adorable n relatable bc i too am that clueless at all times </p><p>also remember back lives matter! please continue to sign petitions and attend protests if that is something u are able to do! keep listening and educating yourself and having those tough but much needed convos with those in ur life who u care abt! also a reminder that if u aren't in the position to be able to donate, if u search black lives matter on youtube there r playlists of videos that are donating their ad revenue, so u can watch/leave the video to play in the back and still be able to help out! take care of urself &lt;3</p><p>visit me on <a href="https://twitter.com/sunfloat_">twt</a>!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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